UCLA

African immigrants are a growing part of the American population. The social adjustment of youth from these families has not been systematically examined by psychologists. More detailed consideration of outcomes of youth in these families can expand research on children of immigration in useful directions. The present study compared academic outcomes of youth from African immigrant families with those of African American youth--i.e., native born Black Americans whose family have resided in the America since the 19th century. It was hypothesized that socialization and individual conceptions of the ethnic group would influence academic achievement.

A mixed method approach was employed to address the historically ambivalent relationship between ethnic identity and achievement. Mediating variables - socialization, students' attitudes and students' orientations - were proposed to explain both a general and ethnic-socialization model of academic achievement. Among the quantitative measures, reported parental education attainment was the strongest positive predictor of achievement in the general model. Significant, moderated mediation effects were found in the ethnic-socialization model, which examined the positive and negative association between ethnic identity and academic outcomes simultaneously. Particularly, the interaction term of embedded ethnic identity and private regard positively predicted grades, such that students for who viewed achievement as important to the ethnic group reported earning higher grades than their peers when they also held a positive view of their own ethnic group. Equally, the interaction term of stigma consciousness and public regard negatively predicted Grades, such that students who believed outgroup members viewed their ethnic group positively reported earning lower grades when they were concerned about being negatively stereotyped than did their peers. Findings from the case studies suggest that Black youth may discount the role of negative intergroup experiences and discrimination in their academic careers. They further highlighted parent expectation and a yoked sense of achievement and ethnic group belonging as motivating for achievement orientation.

Results from the current study provide support for the utility of jointly examining the dual relationship between ethnic identity and academic outcomes.